Vacuum cleaner used as both upright type cleaner and canister type cleaner

ABSTRACT

A vacuum cleaner convertible between upright and canister modes is provided. The vacuum cleaner includes a suction port body that draws in dust from a cleaning surface therethrough, a cleaner body that separates and collects dust from air drawn in through the suction port body, an extension pipe that fluidly communicates with the suction port body, a flexible hose that is detachably connected with the cleaner body, and a manipulation handle that connects the extension pipe and the flexible hose to each other, wherein the suction port body has a drum brush and a driving motor that are disposed inside the suction port body, the driving motor being driven by a power supplied from the cleaner body, wherein the vacuum cleaner is converted into an upright type cleaner or a canister type cleaner by mounting or dismounting the cleaner body to or from the extension pipe.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2007-0125716, filed on Dec. 5, 2007, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Methods and apparatuses consistent with the present disclosure relate to a vacuum cleaner, and more particularly, to a vacuum cleaner that is convertible between an upright mode and a canister mode.

2. Description of the Related Art

A vacuum cleaner is generally divided into an upright type cleaner and a canister type cleaner. The upright type vacuum cleaner has a suction port body and a cleaner body that are directly connected to each other without any extra hose or extension pipe, and improves a cleaning efficiency due to a self-weight when cleaning a carpet.

On the other hand, the canister type vacuum cleaner has a suction port body and a cleaner body that fluidly communicate with each other through a hose and an extension pipe, and, compared to the upright type vacuum cleaner, it has an unrestricted freedom of manipulating the suction port body. Therefore, the canister type vacuum cleaner is of benefit to areas, such as narrow spaces or stairs, which impose a restriction on movement of the upright type vacuum cleaner or manipulation of the suction port.

In recent years, a vacuum cleaner that is convertible between upright and canister modes by changing a position of a cleaner body has been developed. However, it has been determined by the present disclosure that there is a continuing need for such convertible vacuum cleaners.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure overcome the above disadvantages and other disadvantages not described above. Also, the present disclosure is not required to overcome the disadvantages described above, and an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may not overcome any of the problems described above.

An aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a vacuum cleaner that is capable of cleaning a carpet by rotating a drum brush through a driving motor of a suction port body without any extra manipulation when the vacuum cleaner is operated as a canister type cleaner.

The foregoing and/or other aspects and utilities of the present disclosure may be achieved by a vacuum cleaner including a suction port body that draws in dust from a cleaning surface therethrough, a cleaner body that separates and collects dust from air drawn in through the suction port body, an extension pipe that fluidly communicates with the suction port body, a flexible hose that is detachably connected with the cleaner body; and a manipulation handle that connects the extension pipe and the flexible hose to each other, and the suction port body has a drum brush and a driving motor that are disposed inside the suction port body, the driving motor being driven by a power supplied from the cleaner body, and the vacuum cleaner is converted into an upright type cleaner or a canister type cleaner by mounting or dismounting the cleaner body to or from the extension pipe.

The flexible hose, the manipulation handle, and the extension pipe may have electric wires embedded therein to connect them in sequence, and the electric wires may electrically connect a power supply of the cleaner body and the driving motor to each other.

The flexible hose may be pivotably connected with at least one of the cleaner body and the manipulation handle. The flexible hose may have a transport handle formed on a connection portion with the cleaner body to enable a user to carry the cleaner body.

The manipulation handle may be detachably connected with the extension pipe and a cleaning accessory may be mounted on the manipulation handle if the extension pipe is detached from the manipulation handle.

The extension pipe may have a telescopic structure so that it is compressible and expandable in its length. Accordingly, the user can property adjust the height of the manipulation handle by adjusting the length of the extension pipe when the vacuum cleaner is operated as an upright type cleaner. Also, the extension pipe can be compressed to the extent that the vacuum cleaner is placed in a small space when not in use.

The extension pipe may be detachably connected with a connection pipe that is hinged on a rear side of the suction port body, such that the extension pipe fluidly communicates with a suction passage of the suction port body. If the vacuum cleaner is operated as an upright type cleaner, a lower portion of the cleaner body is supported on the extension pipe and an upper portion thereof is mounted on a part of the extension pipe. Accordingly, the cleaner body can be stably fixed to the extension pipe.

The cleaner body may comprise a plurality of auxiliary wheels arranged on a rear side surface thereof opposite a cleaning surface to allow the cleaner body to move along the cleaning surface if the vacuum cleaner is operated as a canister type cleaner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Above and other aspects of the present disclosure will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the exemplary embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompany drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a vacuum cleaner according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating an interior of a suction port body of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the vacuum cleaner according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is operated as an upright vacuum illustrating the manipulation handle in a compressed state;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the vacuum cleaner of FIG. illustrating an example of adjusting the height of a manipulation handle when the vacuum cleaner according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is operated as an upright vacuum; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the vacuum cleaner according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure after conversion into a canister type cleaner.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Certain exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the following description, the same drawing reference numerals are used for the same elements even in different drawings. The matter defined in the description, such as detailed construction and elements, are provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of the disclosure. Thus, it is apparent that the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure can be carried out without this specifically defined matter. Also, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the disclosure with unnecessary detail.

Hereinafter, a vacuum cleaner that is convertible between upright and canister modes according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a vacuum cleaner 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating an interior of a suction port body of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 3, the vacuum cleaner 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes a cleaner body 10, a flexible hose 20, a manipulation handle 30, an extension pipe 40, and a suction port body 50.

The cleaner body 10 has a suction motor (not shown) disposed in an inner and lower portion thereof and a dust separator 11 disposed on an upper portion thereof to separate dust from air drawn in through the suction port body 50. A dust receptacle 13 is removably mounted between the suction motor and the dust separator 11 to collect the dust separated from the air by the dust separator 11.

Also, the cleaner body 10 has an inflow hole 15 disposed on an upper portion thereof to fluidly communicate with the dust separator 11 and to be detachably connected with one end of the flexible hose 20. A first connector 17 is formed around the inflow hole 15 and is electrically connected to a power supply (not shown) of the cleaner body 10. Also, the cleaner body 10 has a plurality of auxiliary wheels 19 (see FIG. 4) that are arranged at a predetermined interval on a rear side surface of the cleaner body 10 opposite a cleaning surface in case that the vacuum cleaner 1 is operated as a canister type cleaner.

The flexible hose 20 has first and second adaptors 21, 22 disposed at opposite ends thereof. The first and the second adaptors 21, 22 are electrically connected to the opposite ends of the flexible hose 20 and pivotably connected to them.

The first adaptor 21 has a locking protrusion 21 a formed on one side thereof to be detachably connected to the cleaner body 10, and has a unlocking button 21 b to unlock the locking protrusion 21 a from a locking recess (not shown) of the cleaner body 10 that the locking protrusion 21 a is locked into. The first adaptor 21 has an insertion portion 23 to be detachably inserted into the inflow hole 15 of the cleaner body 10. The first adapter 21 also has a second connector 24 electrically connected to the first connector 17 of the cleaner body 10 and a transport handle 25 extending from one side of the first adaptor 21 toward the insertion portion 23. A free end 25 a of the transport handle 25 is inserted into a fixing recess 10 a formed on the cleaner body 10 as the first adaptor 21 is connected with the cleaner body 10, so that a user can easily mount and dismount the cleaner body 10 to and from the extension pipe 40 or easily carry the cleaner body 10 using the transport handle 25.

The second adaptor 22 is fixedly connected with one side 32 a of the manipulation handle 30. Naturally, the second adaptor 22 may be detachably connected with one side 32 a of tile manipulation handle 30.

A first electric wire 27 is wound inside the flexible hose 20 in a spiral pattern. The first electric wire 27 has one end connected to the first connector 17 and the other end connected to a connection terminal (not shown) in the second adaptor 22.

The manipulation handle 30 has a grip portion 31 to be gripped by the user, and has one side 32 a to that the second adaptor 22 of the flexible hose 20 is connected and the other side 32 b to that an insertion portion 41 of the extension pipe 40 is detachably connected. The other side 32 b of the manipulation handle 30 has a locking member (not shown) to lock and unlock with respect to the extension pipe 40. The opposite sides 32 a and 32 b of the manipulation handle 30 fluidly communicate with each other such that the manipulation handle 30 has a channel 35 to guide dust-entrained air from the extension pipe 40 to the flexible hose 20.

Also, the manipulation handle 30 has a second electric wire 37 arranged therein to electrically connect the opposite sides 32 a and 32 b of the manipulation handle 30 to each other. Furthermore, a third connector 33 is disposed at the other side 32 b of the manipulation handle 30.

If the other side 32 b of the manipulation handle 30 is detached from the extension pipe 40, a cleaning accessory such as a motorized mini brush may be attached to the manipulation handle 30.

The extension pipe 40 has fourth and fifth connectors 43, 45 disposed at one side and the other side thereof. The fourth connector 43 is electrically connected to the third connector 33 and the fifth connector 45 is electrically connected to a sixth connector 53 disposed at a connection pipe 51 of the suction port body 50.

The extension pipe 40 has a telescopic structure so that it is compressible and expandable in its length (see FIG. 4). Accordingly, if the vacuum cleaner 1 is operated as an upright type cleaner, the user appropriately adjusts the height of the manipulation handle 30 by adjusting the length of the extension pipe 40. Also, the extension pipe 40 is compressed to the extent that the vacuum cleaner 1 can be placed in a small space when not in use (see FIG. 3).

Furthermore, a clamping portion 49 is disposed on a circumference of the extension pipe 40 to detachably fix an upper portion of the cleaner body 10.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the connection pipe 51 is hingedly disposed on a rear end of the suction port body 50. The connection pipe 51 fluidly communicates with a suction passage 50 a disposed inside the suction port body 50.

The connection pipe 51 has an insertion portion 51 a to be inserted into the other side of the extension pipe 40. The sixth connector 53 is arranged around the insertion portion 51 a to be electrically connected to the fifth connector 45. The connection pipe 51 has a support protrusion 51 b protruding therefrom forwardly to securely support a lower portion of the cleaner body 10. The support protrusion 51 b and the clamping portion 49 of the extension pipe 40 stably fix the lower portion and the upper portion of the cleaner body 10 to the connection pipe 51 and the extension pipe 40. Also, the connection pipe 51 has a snap connection portion 51 c protruding therefrom backwardly to elastically hold the flexible hose 20. The connection pipe 51 has a unlocking lever 51 d disposed at one side thereof to unlock a locking protrusion 40 a of the extension pipe 40 as the extension pipe 40 is connected with the connection pipe 51.

The suction port body 50 has a drum brush 56 and a driving motor 57 that are disposed inside the suction port body 50. The drum brush 56 is rotatably disposed on a suction port (not shown) formed on a bottom of the suction port body 50. The driving motor 57 transmits a driving force generated by a driving shaft 58 to the drum brush 56 through a driving belt 59.

Furthermore, the driving motor 57 is electrically connected to the sixth connector 53 through a fourth electric wire 52 (see FIG. 2). Accordingly, the driving motor 57 is supplied with a power from a power supply (not shown) of the cleaner body through the first and the second connectors 17, 24, the first and the second electric wires 27, 37, the third and the fourth connectors 33, 43, a third electric wire 47, the fifth and the sixth connectors 45, 53, and the fourth electric wire 52. These wire arrangements enables the drum brush 56 of the suction port body 50 to rotate without changing electric and mechanical connection and configuration even if a conversion is made between upright and canister modes. Therefore, it is possible to clean a carpet through the drum brush 56 under optimal conditions even when the vacuum cleaner 1 is operated as a canister type cleaner.

Operation of the vacuum cleaner 1 constructed above according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5.

If the vacuum cleaner 1 is operated as an upright type cleaner, the cleaner body 10 is secured to the extension pipe 40 as shown in FIG. 3. More specifically, the lower portion of the cleaner body 10 is fixed to the extension pipe 40 by the support protrusion 51 b of the connection pipe 51 and the upper portion thereof is fixed to the extension pipe 40 by the clamping portion 49 of the extension pipe 40.

In this state, as shown in FIG. 4, the user can grip the grip portion 31 of the manipulation handle 30 and pulls up the grip portion 31, thereby extending the length of the extension pipe 40 to adjust the height of the manipulation handle 30 in consideration of his/her height.

Next, the user grips the grip portion 31 of the manipulation handle 30 and pivots the extension pipe 40 to a predetermined angle with respect to the suction port body 50 to perform a cleaning operation.

On the contrary, if the vacuum cleaner 1 is operated as a canister type cleaner, as shown in FIG. 5, in order to detach the cleaner body 10 from the extension pipe 40, the upper portion of the cleaner body 10 is separated from the damping portion 49 and then the lower portion thereof is separated from the support protrusion 51 b by lifting the cleaner body 10 with the transport handle 25.

After that, the cleaner body 10 is placed on a cleaning surface with its rear side surface on the cleaning surface. Then, the user drags the cleaner body 10 to perform a cleaning operation. At this time, the plurality of auxiliary wheels 19 enable the cleaner body 10 to travel on the cleaning surface smoothly.

As described above, the vacuum cleaner 1 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure can supply a power to the driving motor 57 of the suction port body 50 without any electric/mechanical manipulation even when being converted into an upright type or a canister type cleaner, and thus performs a carpet cleaning operation through the drum brush 56 under optimal conditions.

Moreover, after detaching the suction port body 50 from the extension pipe 40, the user can use the extension pipe 40 as it is or attach a cleaning accessory to the extension pipe 40 for a specific purpose. Likewise, after detaching the extension pipe 40 from the manipulation handle 30, the user may attach a cleaning accessory to the manipulation handle 30 for a specific purpose.

As described above, the vacuum cleaner 1 can supply a power to the driving motor 57 of the suction port body 50 without any electric/mechanical manipulation even when being converted into an upright type or a canister type cleaner, and thus performs a carpet cleaning operation through the drum brush 56 under optimal conditions.

The foregoing exemplary embodiments and advantages are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the present disclosure. The present teaching can be readily applied to other types of apparatuses. Also, the description of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of the claims, and many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. 

1. A vacuum cleaner comprising: a suction port body that draws in dust from a cleaning surface therethrough; a cleaner body that separates and collects dust from air drawn in through the suction port body; an extension pipe that fluidly communicates with the suction port body; a flexible hose that is detachably connected with the cleaner body; and a manipulation handle that connects the extension pipe and the flexible hose to each other, wherein the suction port body has a drum brush and a driving motor that are disposed inside the suction port body, the driving motor being driven by a power supplied from the cleaner body, wherein the vacuum cleaner is converted into an upright type cleaner or a canister type cleaner by mounting or dismounting the cleaner body to or from the extension pipe, and wherein the power is supplied from the cleaner body to the driving motor when the vacuum cleaner is converted into the upright type cleaner or the canister type cleaner.
 2. The vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flexible hose, the manipulation handle, and the extension pipe have electric wires embedded therein to connect them in sequence, and the electric wires electrically connect a power supply of the cleaner body and the driving motor to each other.
 3. The vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 2, wherein the flexible hose is pivotably connected with at least one of the cleaner body and the manipulation handle.
 4. The vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 3, wherein the flexible hose has a transport handle formed on a connection portion with the cleaner body to enable a user to carry the cleaner body.
 5. The vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the manipulation handle is detachably connected with the extension pipe and a cleaning accessory is mounted on the manipulation handle if the extension pipe is detached from the manipulation handle.
 6. The vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the extension pipe has a telescopic structure so that it is compressible and expandable in its length.
 7. The vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the extension pipe is detachably connected with a connection pipe that is hinged on a rear side of the suction port body, such that the extension pipe fluidly communicates with a suction passage of the suction port body.
 8. The vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 7, wherein, if the vacuum cleaner is operated as an upright type cleaner, a lower portion of the cleaner body is supported on the extension pipe and an upper portion thereof is mounted on a part of the extension pipe.
 9. The vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cleaner body comprises a plurality of auxiliary wheels arranged on a rear side surface thereof to allow the cleaner body to move along the cleaning surface if the vacuum cleaner is operated as a canister type cleaner. 